Blake Shelton Scores Powerful ‘The Voice’ Team Member After Stunning Blind Audition [Watch]
Blake Shelton scored a triumph in the Season 21 premiere of The Voice on Monday night (Sept. 20). The longtime coach on the iconic reality singing competition landed a very strong contender as a team member for Team Blake after a stunning audition that he called "a top three blind audition for The Voice, all time."
Wendy Moten was the final blind audition of the season premiere on Monday evening, taking the stage to perform a cover of the Beatles' "We Can Work It Out." Her astonishing mix of tone control, power and passion resulted in a four-chair turn from Shelton and his fellow The Voice coaches Kelly Clarkson, John Legend and newcomer Ariana Grande.
As Entertainment Tonight reports, the 55-year-old singer scored a chart hit of her own with "Come In Out of the Rain" in 1994 in the U.K. before settling in Nashville, where she has sung backup and duets for artists including Julio Iglesias, Michael McDonald, John Oates, Vince Gill and more. According to her official bio, her relationship with Gill is so close that he produced her most recent album, I've Got You Covered, which consists of classic country covers.
The coaches on The Voice certainly seem to share Gill's appreciation for Moten's vocal talents.
"Your mastery of your instrument is beyond," Legend states. "You have so much light in your voice... You really are phenomenal and we are lucky to have you."
"I'm shook right now ... I don't know that I've heard someone sing like that in my life ... You are spectacular and I need you to be in the foreground," Grande tells Moten in the clip of the stunning audition. "It's time."
Clarkson was the last coach to turn her chair for Moten, but her praise is no less effusive.
"You are what this show is all about," the pop superstar and TV personality tells Moten. "A voice that is so powerful, so transcendent, that you kind of move people to another level."
Shelton is the only coach left on The Voice from its original lineup, and he praised Moten's audition as one of the best he's seen in 21 seasons.
"That is top three blind audition for The Voice, all time," he marvels. "You found a note and delivered it with power and impact. It was shocking," he says, adding with his trademark humor, "You hit the note and just let it set sail, blowing the hair color out of my hair!"
Shelton blocked Legend from trying to land Moten for his team, but it seemed as if it would not have mattered, as she appeared to have her heart set on Shelton — who has won The Voice more times than any other coach in the history of the show — becoming her coach. She chose him after listening to pitches from the other coaches, and she'll move on the next round of The Voice Season 21 as a critical and fan favorite after an audition that attracted national attention.
The Voice airs Monday and Tuesday nights at 8PM ET on NBC.
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